20세기 초 한국 기독교의 생명과 종교 담론: 초기 전영택을 중심으로 (Discourse on Life and Religion in Korean Christianity in the 20th Century: Focused on Early Jeon Young-Taek)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한신대학교 한신신학연구소
· 수록지 정보 : 신학연구 / 53권 / 1호 / 258 ~ 284페이지
· 저자명 : 김태연

초록

Jeon Young-Taek (1894-1968), the famous Christian pastor and scholar, is often interpreted either from the common understanding of Christianity or from a perspective which overestimates the influence of Japanese Daisho vitalism upon his thought. To overcome those problems this paper attempts to understand his definition of religion and Christianity through his frequently-used term “life,” a term which was also an important keyword in the colonial period of Korea. It shows us how he defines religion and why he decides to become a Christian in an intentional way. I mainly focus on his early work while he studied in Japan before his ordination. Jeon sees in Christianity the potentiality to realize new potential and life in Korean people. His opinions about science are also liberal, in contrast to the hostile understandings of contemporary Korean churches to it. The pivot on which Jeon’s thoughts on religion and science turn is how “true life” is one that includes a science worldview, and this life can be realized and lived by people under any circumstances, even under the Japanese colonial rule. While arguing for the necessity of religion, he emphasizes much more the entire human being’s life than a simple focus upon God. Life means the process by which the human being’s vital spirit can fundamentally reform one’s existence. These emphases on the human being and the struggle to cultivate oneself reminds us to a certain degree of the traditional Confucian basis of his thoughts on religion. A case-studyof Jeon’s life shows us that it’s necessary to reexamine the larger understandings of religion and Christianity of early Korean Christian thinkers: their very conversion to Christianity within the religious milieu of demonstrates the lively influences of other religions and thought-processes of their day. Thus, through understanding the life-discourse of modern Christian thinkers we gain a different perspective to understand their understanding of religion, and the adaption of Christianity. This will enable us to clarify how Korean Christianity was imagined, presented and recreated in this period, which provides a window into today’s Korean Christianity.

영어초록

Jeon Young-Taek (1894-1968), the famous Christian pastor and scholar, is often interpreted either from the common understanding of Christianity or from a perspective which overestimates the influence of Japanese Daisho vitalism upon his thought. To overcome those problems this paper attempts to understand his definition of religion and Christianity through his frequently-used term “life,” a term which was also an important keyword in the colonial period of Korea. It shows us how he defines religion and why he decides to become a Christian in an intentional way. I mainly focus on his early work while he studied in Japan before his ordination. Jeon sees in Christianity the potentiality to realize new potential and life in Korean people. His opinions about science are also liberal, in contrast to the hostile understandings of contemporary Korean churches to it. The pivot on which Jeon’s thoughts on religion and science turn is how “true life” is one that includes a science worldview, and this life can be realized and lived by people under any circumstances, even under the Japanese colonial rule. While arguing for the necessity of religion, he emphasizes much more the entire human being’s life than a simple focus upon God. Life means the process by which the human being’s vital spirit can fundamentally reform one’s existence. These emphases on the human being and the struggle to cultivate oneself reminds us to a certain degree of the traditional Confucian basis of his thoughts on religion. A case-studyof Jeon’s life shows us that it’s necessary to reexamine the larger understandings of religion and Christianity of early Korean Christian thinkers: their very conversion to Christianity within the religious milieu of demonstrates the lively influences of other religions and thought-processes of their day. Thus, through understanding the life-discourse of modern Christian thinkers we gain a different perspective to understand their understanding of religion, and the adaption of Christianity. This will enable us to clarify how Korean Christianity was imagined, presented and recreated in this period, which provides a window into today’s Korean Christianity.

참고자료

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